News Maker

From Koggala to diplomacy and back

by Nilika de Silva

S. K. Wickremasinghe is Martin Wickremasinghe's son, the latter being a Sinhala revivalist and a cynic about the British if ever there was one. But, Wickremasinghe Jnr., believes in the sincerity of the British. For instance, speaking about the Fox-Fatchett attempts at helping Sri Lanka find a peaceful solution to the ethnic conflict, Mr. Wickremesinghe stresses that this was a genuine gesture. 

Mr. Wickremsinghe can perhaps be described as an example of a living contradiction. Though coming from Koggala, he was ever the technocrat, managing a corporate giant ICI before he took wing to London. When asked: "As the son of Martin Wickramasinghe, with your roots firmly embedded in Koggala, what did you feel when you took wing to UK as ambassador he said: "We didn't lose Our rural touch; we are still village boys at heart, I suppose."

Mr. Wickremasinghe says: "The general attitude of the media in western countries and Britain is how we observe human rights. And their questioning tends to fo-cus on this. That's where we have to clear the picture, sometimes rather forcefully."

Whether he did it forcefully enough has been subject of some controversy, especially after an interview on BBC in which he was subject to some blunt questioning. When asked about the episode he said: "Newsmen all over the world are like you, asking awkward questions.'' A very diplomatic way of putting it, now? 

When asked about Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar's claim that the LTTE was doing a very good job as a propaganda outfit, something which the Sri Lankan government was finding difficult to do, given staff constraints, he said:" The most crucial area of an ambassador in Britain is the communication aspect."

Mr, Wickremasinghe believes that the diplomatic role of Sri Lankan ambassadors has changed particularly because the propaganda work carried out by the LTTE is being felt by decision makers of the country.

Being a diplomat who never made a career out of diplomatic work, Mr. Wickrema-singhe can say what he has to say and think aloud without bringing down a ton of protest bricks upon himself.

Sharing his views on what course the North-East conflict would take, he said matter of factly: "I suppose militarily the conflict will wind up and after that the time would be right for a political settlement."

He expressed views bluntly even about Koggala his hometown. In fact although ensconced five floors up in a plush office in the heart of Colombo, the mention of Koggala seemed to stir strong feelings within the man.

Would it be justifiable to call this man a rolling stone? With a chequered history- having been the chairman of many different commercial establishments, then Sri Lanka's Ambassador in Britain, and now back home as Chairman of the National Development Bank? 

"My main career has been that of a business executive. When the Foreign Minister asked me to take up the Ambassadorship in Britain, I declined. But then he came back to me repeatedly on this subject and finally I accepted. My term was three years which expired in February 98. The minister asked me to extend my stay due to the SAARC summit, after which I expressed my wish to return. I was then asked to stay on further, and I did so till the end of last year. I was elected to the National Development Bank on Jan.16," Mr. Wickremasinghe said.

For a man who started in rural Koggala, then completed a Physics degree in the university of Colombo and rose to be chairman ICI, it is a rolling route indeed.

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